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Peter Singer

Page history last edited by siobahng 15 years ago

Biography

 

 

singer.jpg

 

PETER SINGER

 

 

Full Name: Peter Albert David Singer

Date of Birth: July 6, 1946

Place of Birth:  Melbourne, Australia

Nationality: Australian

 

  • Peter Singer was born on July 6, 1946 and he is an Australian philosopher. He is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, and laureate professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), University of Melbourne. Singer specializes in applied ethics, approaching ethical issues.
  • In 1996 he ran unsuccessfully as a Green candidate for the Australian Senate. In 2004 the Council of Australian Humanist Societies recognized him as the Australian Humanist of the Year.
  • He wrote a book called "Animal Liberation" 
  • He attended Preshil and Scotch College. 
  • Studied law, history, and philosophy at the University of Oxford.
  • The New Yorker calls him "the most influential living philosopher." 
  • His critics call him "the most dangerous man in the world."
  • He has written five books: Practical Ethics (1979), Rethinking Life and Death (1995), Animal Liberation (1975), and this year he published Writings on Ethical Life and Darwinian Left: Politics, Evolution, and Cooperation.

 

See full size image 

 

 

 

 

Singer's Philosophy

 

 

  • His general view point is equality. The fundamental interests that entitles a being to equal consideration is the capacity for "suffering and/or enjoyment or happiness." He also says that a person's interests should always be weighed according to that person's concrete properties or morals.
  • Ethical conduct is justifiable by reasons that go beyond prudence to "something bigger than the individual," addressing a larger audience.  He believes that going-beyond identifies moral reasons as somewhat universal.
  • "Love thy neighbor as thyself" was one of his quotes he lived by. 

 

  • Abortion

Singer was very compassionate about abortion and wrote a book on it called Rethinking Life and Death His argument is not anti-abortion, but pro life. Denying that it is wrong to take an innocent human life. He argues that the argument of abortion be based on utilitarian calculation which weighs the preferences of a mother against the preferences of the fetus. 

 

  • Euthanasia

Singer classifies it as voluntary and involuntary (non-voluntary). Voluntary euthanasia is that with the consent of the subject. Involuntary is without the consent of the subject. Peter Singer's views on euthanasia are very similar to his views on abortion. In his book Practical Ethics, he states, " If allowing someone to die is not intrinsically different from killing someone, it would seem that we are all murderers."

 

  • World Poverty

Singer argues that the injustice of some people living in abundance while others starve is morally indefensible. He thinks that anyone able to help the poor should donate part of their income to aid poverty relief and similar efforts. His reasons for this are that when one is already living comfortably, a further purchase to increase comfort will lack the same moral importance as saving another person's life.

 

Books written by Peter Singer: (LATEST 15)

The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty

Practical Ethics

Animal Liberation

THE ETHICS OF WHAT WE EAT: Why Our Food Choices Matter

In Defense of Animals: The Second Wave

Eating

Ethics (Oxford Readers)

Rethinking Life and Death: The Collapse of Our Traditional Ethics

One World: The Ethics of Globalization (Terry Lectures)

 

         Quotes from Peter Singer.

 

 

  • “The notion that human life is sacred just because it is human life is medieval.”
  • “the traditional view of the sanctity of human life will collapse under pressure from scientific, technological and demographic developments.”
  • “The lack of numbers - missing on everything from how much we are spending to how many are being killed or wounded - is just stunning for this day and age.”
  • "I'm a Utilitarian, so I don't see the rule against lying as absolute; it's always subject to some overriding ultility which may prevent its exercise."
  • "I don't think there's anything in the compromise that means that there's a clash of ethics."
  • "In the sense that you're not at the centre of power, like a president or prime minister of a major power, everyone is marginalised; my position doesn't isn't unique in that respect. I think there are different sorts of relevance in different contexts."

 

     Quotes about Peter Singer.

 

  • "the most influential living philosopher." -New Yorker Ronald Bailey.
  • "the most dangerous man in the world." -All of his critics.
  •  

 

     Works Sited.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Singer]

 

http://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/

 

http://www.reason.com/news/show/27886.html

 

http://animalliberationfront.com/Saints/Authors/Interviews?Peter%20Singer--summary.htm

 

http://utilitarian.net/singer/by/1993---.htm 

 

http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/peter_singer/

 

http://www.quotesandpoem.com/quotes/listquotes/author/Peter_Singer

 

http://www.quotes-museum.com/quote/79114

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/275-5147250-4131030?ie=UTF8&keywords=Peter%20Singer&tag=saidwhat-21&index=blended&link%5Fcode=qs

 

http://www.reason.com/news/show/27886.html

Comments (14)

siobahng said

at 12:45 pm on Feb 27, 2009

If your going to edit the page could you please contribute something worth while?

tayore said

at 1:01 pm on Feb 27, 2009

DO NOT CAHNGE OR DELETE ANTHING!!!!! just contribute if u cant do that than dont touch what we've already contributed

siobahng said

at 1:11 pm on Feb 27, 2009

Ya I agree with tayore. I don't really care if you don't want to help with this project; but please don't delete what other people have done on it. Thats just really immature. And if your going to change something that somebody else has done then would you please check with them first? k thanks.

katies said

at 10:08 am on Mar 3, 2009

i didn't delete anything i worked on it i finished the whole biography in class

thomash said

at 4:31 pm on Mar 3, 2009

Dude siobahng is right, she is smart so listen to her.

katies said

at 7:49 am on Mar 9, 2009

hey tayore and siobahng Mr. Progreba said that we don't only need quotes from our philosopher but also quotes that people have made about our philosopher.

katies said

at 8:02 am on Mar 9, 2009

I just got done editing and fixing misspelled words so can you please help find some quotes about our philosopher and quotes that others have said about him please =]

thomash said

at 11:53 am on Mar 9, 2009

Hey siobahng what is up? R u finished yet?

siobahng said

at 11:58 am on Mar 9, 2009

Nope I'm not.
Im probably gunna fail this=/
Ugh.
Are you finished?

thomash said

at 12:00 pm on Mar 9, 2009

Yuppers I have been working on this thing so long and I have had it done since friday. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

siobahng said

at 12:05 pm on Mar 9, 2009

Wow. Way to be thomas way to be.

thomash said

at 12:06 pm on Mar 9, 2009

I know right?

thomash said

at 12:11 pm on Mar 9, 2009

Hurry up and find those quotes Ganges or u will never b done!!!!!!!!!!!!

siobahng said

at 12:21 pm on Mar 9, 2009

I CANT DO THIS I CANT DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FIRST MY MOTHER AND NOW YOU! STOP TELLING ME HOW TO LIVE MY LIFE!

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